The Modern Bar & Restaurant
Floors 5 and 6, Urbis, Cathedral Gardens, Manchester.
Tel: 0161 605 8200
If there is one thing which perplexes visitors to the stunning iconic building that is Urbis, it's the glass. For some bizarre reason, architect Ian Simpson made the stunning decision to use frosted glass to mask what would have been clear panoramic views of Exchange Square below and the hills beyond. The resulting effect is akin to looking through a letterbox and it means the majority of tables at its promising fifth and sixth floor restaurant, The Modern, lose a great deal of allure. With Cloud 23 visible a mile or so up the road, there's a real rival when it comes to munching away in elevated eateries in landmark glass buildings.
Lucky then that the interior of The Modern is, well, very much modern (natch) and more than compensates for the opaque barrier between it and the world. Gone are the table cloths of this space's previous incumbent, Le Mont, a noble yet unsuccessful attempt to bring a Michelin-pleasing, non-ethnic restaurant to Manchester. Instead, the emphasis is on chic simplicity, darkwood tables lending a brasserie feel and a menu less pretentious than you would expect.
Of note is the lunch menu. It offers dishes that may appear overly trendy on first pass and the fear is that the portions will require the use of a microscope. When they arrive, however, they pack the plate, the roast chicken & stuffing sandwich for £6 being tender, locally sourced and appetisingly completed with a modern twist of lemon and thyme mayonnaise. Of note is the intriguing fish finger sandwich splashed with tartare sauce & lemon that would make any Lancastrian proud, perhaps pleasing some Yorkshire folk too given the £5.50 price tag.
Mrs. Kirkham’s Lancashire cheese sandwich with carrot and walnut chutney is perfect for vegetarians and costs just £5.50, the Loch Fyne smoked mackerel salad of jersey royals, fine beans, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and soft boiled egg is £7 and - for those pushing the boat out - the beer battered pollack, fat cut chips, mushy peas and tartar sauce is £12.50.
Indeed, given the period of austerity that we have inadvertently found ourselves, the emphasis on reasonably priced yet deliciously pleasing food at once ensures your pocket and stomach is relatively bulging when you finally tear yourself away from an atmosphere notably more relaxed than the bustle of the city centre. This is where The Modern excells - sizeable portions, cooked to perfection at prices that won't break even the most vulnerable of banks.
Such attitudes extend to evening meals. Try the grilled goosnagh maize fed chicken (£10.50), a standard bearer for other Mancunian restaurants and as good as any you would get in a Michelin starred London restaurant. Served without the snobbery by friendly waitresses who engage in conversaion and who go out of their way to ensure you have a perfect dining experience without the pretence, it's all rather swish and effortless yet so effective. Try too the roasted Yorkshire venison with spiced but perhaps too overpowering red cabbage, creamed potatoes with a braised faggot, juniper and thyme sauce. for £17. You cannot fail to be disappointed.
Some may balk at fat cut chips for £3.50 - but when they are as delightfully crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside as this there will be few complaints - the puddings are simply divine and worth stretching the budget for. Sherry trifle, with poached rhubarb and a vanilla cream (£4.50), Valhrona chocolate and malt whisky tart, hazelnut and caramel ice cream £5), quaking pudding with spiced, stewed apples and plums (£5)... even the names ensure a sligth drool.
And so to drinks. Cokes at £1.50, orange juices at £2, red and white wines starting from £15 a bottle or £5 a glass up to £76 for a bottle of Lafite-Rothschild catena caro - if there is a restaurant to cater for quality tastes and budgets, then this is it. A lack of tasting notes on the wine-list slightly jarrs but to jump in an experiment can throw up some pleasant surprises. Just like this restaurant, in fact.
Verdict:
Food: *****
Service: *****
Value for money: ****
Atmosphere: ***
Overall rating: 17/20
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